


Lift You Up and Fly Away With You Into the Night

by Olsies



Series: It's the End of the World (And I Feel Fine) [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Anxiety, Bottom Richie Tozier, COVID-19, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Insomnia, Isolation, M/M, Quarantine, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Top Eddie Kaspbrak, covid-19 anxiety, eddie and richie aren't doing so good, hint of power play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:48:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23389018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olsies/pseuds/Olsies
Summary: Out of sheer boredom, he picked up his shaving cream and shook it. Shaving his face went quicker than he thought it would. Or maybe it didn’t.Time didn’t feel real anymore.Rinsing off his face, he caught sight of his eyebrows. Well, one eyebrow, with one grey hair.***or the time richie got bored and anxious during quarantine so he shaved his eyebrows and everyone made fun of him.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: It's the End of the World (And I Feel Fine) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718644
Comments: 9
Kudos: 93





	Lift You Up and Fly Away With You Into the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PencilEater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilEater/gifts).



> a few weeks ago, right when things were getting really scary, i had an idea where i would try and work through some of my covid anxieties through eddie. well, i started it, and it fell on it's face. then the other day i was watching tiktoks with my bff and i got the idea that richie should do something stupid while they were in quarantine. i've been working on this all weekend, and i really like how it came out.
> 
> i understand if you don't want to read this, or if you think that this is in poor taste. i wasn't going to post the original piece, but this came out so good. if you do read it, i hope it helps.

The house was quiet. Eddie was in his home office working on something or other, but Richie was pacing. It was Friday, but there was nothing to do, nowhere to go. Everything was shut down, and even if it wasn’t, Eddie would have had a _fucking heart attack_ if Richie tried to leave. They’d been isolated for almost a week and a half longer than anyone else in LA because Eddie kept having panic attacks. Richie couldn’t blame him, this fucking COVID-19 shit was scary as fuck.

The first few days weren’t bad. Long before the pandemic, Eddie had his home office set up so he could work remotely if he had to, so there wasn’t any need to set that up. His company was pretty lenient though, and let Eddie and the others have a couple days off after asking all their office workers to work from home. Eddie spent most of that time curled up under Richie’s arm, face shoved in his chest as they watched stupid TV and tried to not obsessively check their Twitter and Facebook feeds.

The first day Eddie went back to work, Richie kept coming in and out of the office, pretending to get Eddie coffee, or water, or a snack. Once in, he tried to stay in the office, and Eddie kept kicking him out. Near the third hour, Richie came in during a video conference call with a sandwich, only he didn’t know it was a video call, and all he was wearing was his rainbow boxers. Eddie didn’t notice him at first because Richie was hanging back, but then one of Eddie’s coworkers cleared her throat.

“Hey, uh, Kaspbrak,” the woman said.

“Yeah, Lane?” Eddie asked as he went over some notes on his tablet.

“Um, I think-” Lane started and pointed at the screen. Eddie looked over at her.

“What?” Eddie asked. He turned to look behind him and his eyes bugged out of his head. “Please excuse me, I have to go have a word with my husband.” He slammed the computer closed.

“Richie, what the fuck are you doing?” Eddie asked. “I’m trying to work.”

“I-” Richie started and smiled nervously as he held up the plate. “Sandwich?”

After that Eddie set some very clear boundaries. Richie was not allowed in the office between 8 and 1 and then 3 and 7 unless the door was open. Richie hated it. He couldn’t believe he was locked in the house with his best friend and he couldn’t even bug him.

After that he spent a lot of time on their shared Switch and watching stupid Youtube videos. He’d sometimes Facetimed with the other losers, but they were busy with their own things. Richie was the only one in between projects. He supposed he could find something to do, some sort of new routine, but every time he sat down to write, his chest would tighten and all he ever managed was stupid doodles. He gave up writing fairly quickly. Who wanted to be funny when over 3.3 million people had lost their jobs, when people were dying, when he kept reading about people getting sick and then having to be cut off from their friends and family?

That’s what scared him the most, if he was honest. Being alone in a hospital room on one of the worst days of his life, no Eds, no losers, just him alone. Or the thought of it being Eddie.

He shuddered and kept walking, trying to push the thoughts away. He could hear Eddie in the office talking to someone, the door closed. There was no disturbing him now. Richie sighed and went to the bathroom. After using the toilet, he washed his hands and leaned close to the mirror, studied his face and the deep bags under his eyes, studied the grey in his hair. It was hard to tell, but he was pretty sure the amount of grey hair on his head had doubled in the past few weeks. He was just _waiting_ for a grey chest hair or pube.

Sighing, Richie stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess; it needed to be cut. He wished he could be as brave as Bev and just get the scissors, but he’d learned the hard way, more than once, that cutting his own hair was never a good idea. He rubbed his face. He needed to shave.

Out of sheer boredom, he picked up his shaving cream and shook it. Shaving went quicker than he thought it would. Or maybe it didn’t.

Time didn’t feel real anymore.

Rinsing off his face, he caught sight of his eyebrows. Well, one eyebrow, with one grey hair. Richie wanted that fucker gone, but he had no idea how to make that happen. More than once, makeup artists had begged him to let them pluck them, or to at least clean them up a little, but he’d learned on a dare when he was 15, _that shit fucking hurt._

He ran a finger through one thick brow and looked down at the razor. In the back of his head, he could hear every one of his friends telling him to stop, but why should he? They were going to be quarantined for fuck knew how long and even when they weren’t, it wasn’t like he was going to go on tour. For one thing, he had no content. Besides, they would grow back. Licking his lips, he sprayed more shaving cream on his hand.

This was trickier than the cheeks, he had to keep moving his glasses so he could get to his eyebrows with the razor, but he was terrified he was going to nick himself. When he was done, he washed his face and glasses before looking at himself. He looked like a _fucking_ alien. He smiled and went back to the bedroom he shared with Eddie. He stretched out on his back and stared up at the ceiling for a while. Eventually he sat up and put something stupid on Youtube and tried to let that distract him, but it was hard. He needed something to do with his hands but he didn’t want to get his phone because if he got his phone he was going to check Twitter and if he checked Twitter he was going to panic. Again. And nobody had time for that.

Even though all they had was time.

Their tuxedo cat, Bob, came in from wherever he’d been off doing his cat stuff, and jumped up on the bed next to Richie. He sniffed his face as he always did when he or Eddie shaved, his cold little wet nose bumping a couple of times against Richie’s cheek and forehead. He curled up on Richie’s chest and began to purr.

“How do you guys do it? Stay in all the time, cut off from the world, and not go fucking insane?” Richie whispered. Bob just began to do that thing that cats did where they flexed their claws in the air in contentment. Richie smiled and checked the time. It was almost one, which meant Eddie should be breaking for lunch soon.

“Hey punk, we gotta get up and make daddy lunch,” Richie whispered to the cat who didn’t even acknowledge him. “Bob, want a treat?” The cat’s ears twitched. “Do you want a treat?” Bob sat up and looked over at Richie. “Well, you gotta get up so we can go to the kitchen.” The cat watched him for a moment before yawning and getting up, stretching slowly. He jumped lithely off Richie’s chest and on to the floor. Richie got up and followed him to the kitchen.

After putting on some fun music and giving Bob a treat, Richie pulled out the supplies for sandwiches and got to work, hoping that Eddie would get off on time. When he was done, he grabbed a bag of chips, some beer, and went up to the office. It was quiet, so Richie knocked on the door, but found it empty. He went down the hall and found Eddie flopped on their bed, face down. He hadn’t been sleeping well, and Richie wished there was something he could do, but there was nothing. This whole thing had been so hard on Eddie. He alternated between wanting to be as close as possible to Richie and not even wanting to be in the same room as him. All Richie could do consistently was be there to hold him when he needed it, to make sure he ate, and take care of the litter box. Eddie did most of the other chores, so it wasn’t _that much_ different, but it was also so different. They usually got together with the losers multiple times a week, and they had done group Facetimes, which helped, but it was weird when your best friends were less than half an hour away, and you couldn’t go near them.

Richie walked over to the bed and stood close to Eddie, careful not to touch him.

“Psst,” Richie whispered. No response. “Psst, Eds.” Nothing. Richie cleared his throat. “ Hey, boo boo bear, is it ok if I give the cat some milk? We need to use it before it goes bad.” He knew it would make Eddie angry enough to respond because cats were lactose intolerant.

“What do you want, Richie?” Eddie asked, voice muffled by the pillow.

“Are you awake?” Richie asked, and Eddie groaned.

“What do you want, Richie?” He repeated.

“I want to know if you’re awake,” Richie said.

“Well, clearly, I am,” Eddie said.

“You ready for lunch?” Richie asked. Eddie sighed and sat up. He took the sandwich and beer, smiling briefly at Richie.

“Thank-” He stopped and stared at Richie as Richie did his best to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t quite do it.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Richie asked. Eddie put the food on the bed and stood up.

“You fucking _did not_ shave your eyebrows,” Eddie said. Richie licked his lips to try and keep from grinning.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Richie said through snorts of laughter. Eddie took off Richie’s glasses.

“What the fuck, Richie?” Eddie asked, laughing. Richie gave it up and laughed too.

“I got bored,” Richie said. Eddie reached up and ran his thumbs over the space where an hour before Richie’s eyebrows had been.

“But _why_?” Eddie asked. Richie shrugged.

“I don’t know,” Richie said. “I shaved my face and I just-” He shrugged.

“Well, hopefully it will grow back,” Eddie said gently putting Richie’s glasses back on and patting his face. He cocked his head at his husband.

“What do you mean, ‘hopefully’?” Richie asked. Eddie smirked and took his sandwich. “Eds, what do you mean, hopefully? They will grow back, won’t they?” Eddie took a large bite of his sandwich and shrugged. “Fuck, what have I done?” Richie asked. He picked up his phone and began googling. He breathed a sigh of relief. He would only have to look like an alien for 8-16 weeks. Hopefully.

“You’re such an asshole,” Richie said, tossing his phone on the bed and grabbing his food.

“You’re the one who shaved your eyebrows,” Eddie said as he opened his beer. “I had nothing to do with that.” Richie rolled his eyes and leaned back on the pillows as he ate his sandwich. They both fell silent as they ate. When Eddie was done, he started to get up and stopped at the foot of the bed in front of Richie and just stared at the floor for a moment before looking over at Richie.

“You ok, spaghetti man?” Richie asked. Eddie sighed, nodded, shook his head no, and nodded again before setting his plate and empty beer bottle down on the bed next to him before rubbing his face with both his hands. Eddie took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“It’s all just so fucking exhausting,” Eddie said. “I- I need a fucking break.”

“Can you take the rest of the afternoon off? Start the weekend early?” Richie asked. Eddie looked over at him.

“I mean, yeah, but then what the fuck do I do?” Eddie snapped. “Be a lazy fuck, and sit and stare at my phone?” Richie let the words roll off him. He knew Eddie didn’t mean it.

“We could go for a walk,” Richie suggested. Closing his eyes, Eddie shook his head, sighed, and shoved his face into his hands. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Eddie let out a small sob, and Richie put his plate down. “Eds?”

“‘M fine,” Eddie mumbled as he tried to take a deep breath. Richie sat up and pulled his knees up to his chest, hesitating.

“Eds?” Richie whispered. Eddie sucked in a deep breath and rubbed his face some more.

“‘M fine, Richie,” Eddie repeated, voice thick.

“Oh, good,” Richie said. “I’d hate to see what you looked like when you were not fine.” Eddie let out a weird laugh and leaned on Richie’s legs. Richie ran his fingers through Eddie’s hair. “What can I do?” Eddie shrugged a little.

“This is all just too much,” Eddie whispered.

“I know,” Richie whispered. “I know, baby.” Eddie took another deep breath.

“I’ll take the rest of the afternoon off,” he said. “Maybe we can just go sit outside in the sun for a little while and take a bath later?”

“Sure, if you think that will help,” Richie murmured. Sighing, Eddie opened his eyes and looked up at Richie. His face broke into a grin as he snorted.

“You look like such a freakazoid,” Eddie said. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Richie said. He pulled Eddie’s hand up and kissed his palm. Eddie smiled up at him. “So much.” Eddie sat up.

“I kind of want to take a nap,” Eddie said. Richie nodded.

“I’ll take the dishes and bottles down,” Richie said. “Do you want anything from the kitchen?” Eddie shook his head, no, as he unbuttoned his shirt. Richie smirked. Every day he’d been wearing nice shirts, but most of the time he ran around in boxers or gym shorts. Today was a boxer day.

“I’m good, but thank you,” Eddie said. Richie nodded and went down to the kitchen. He got them some water before going back up and found Eddie curled up on his side of the bed. Richie set the water on the bedside table and stretched out on the bed next to Eddie.

“Cuddle time?” Richie asked, arms open. Eddie scooted closer, shoving his face into Richie’s shoulder, and pulling Richie close.

“You’re my favorite,” Eddie whispered.

“You’re my favorite, too,” Richie said kissing his forehead. He took off his glasses and set them on the bedside table. Eddie looked up at him, and snorted.

“You are such an idiot,” Eddie said. Richie rolled his eyes.

“Well that was short lived,” Richie said. Eddie laughed.

“Why did you do it, though? I don’t understand,” Eddie said. Richie shrugged.

“To make you laugh?” Richie asked. Richie had no real answer. Eddie shook his head and shoved his face into Richie’s neck, curling his fingers into Richie’s t-shirt. He sighed and closed his eyes. Richie stroked Eddie’s back and closed his eyes. They dozed for a while.

They both woke up to Richie’s phone going off. Richie groaned as Eddie rolled on his back, yawning. Richie grabbed his phone and glasses. Bill was trying to Facetime them.

“Whadda ya want?” Richie asked, answering the call as Eddie rolled closer to Richie so he could be in the frame. Bill laughed.

“Just calling to check in,” Bill said, laughing. “Wondering if the boredom has gotten to you yet.” Out of all of them, Bill was doing the best. He was a writer and would go days on end without leaving. This was nothing new to him.

“You’ll never believe what Richie did,” Eddie said and Richie growled, and slapped at Eddie’s face.

“Ignore him, ignore him!” Richie yelled. Bill laughed.

“What did you do now?” Bev asked. They could hear Ben laughing in the background.

“Nothing, I did nothing,” Richie growled, and Eddie giggled.

“Richie, come on,” Eddie said tugging at Richie’s arm. “They’re going to see anyway.”

“Come on, Richie, just show us,” Bev said. “You’re making me motion sick.” Richie sighed.

“How bad can it be?” Bill asked.

“Oh, it’s bad,” Eddie said. “Ben come look.” Richie sighed.

“I! Am a _human being_!” Richie said, pulling his arm away. Eddie leaned forward and tugged Richie’s glasses off.

“What the _fuck_ did you _do_?” Ben asked. Bev burst into laughter, wiping tears from her eyes. Bill snorted and dropped the phone because he was laughing so hard. Bev picked up the phone.

“Richie, why?” She asked. “Why, honey?” Richie shrugged.

“Why not?”

“You look like-” She snorted.

“It looks terrible, doesn’t it?” Richie asked, and Bev snorted.

“You have to ask, baby?” Eddie asked, and Richie laughed.

“You’re supposed to lie, spaghetti,” Richie said. Eddie kissed his cheek.

“I love you,” Eddie said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Richie said. “I love you, too. You punk.” Eddie kissed Richie’s cheek as Richie took back his glasses and put them on. “You’re all _so_ funny. Mocking me.”

“How drunk were you?” Ben asked. Richie shook his head, no.

“You were sober when you made this decision?” Bev asked, laughing. Richie nodded, yes. “Richie, do me a favor?”

“Yeah, Bev?”

“If you decide to shave anything else, don’t tell me,” Bev said. Everyone laughed.

“But if I don’t share, how will you know when I get a grey pube?” Richie asked. Bev rolled her eyes and everyone laughed again.

“I miss you, losers,” Bev said.

“We miss you, too,” Eddie said. “You guys doing ok?” Bev smiled and shrugged.

“As good as can be expected,” Bev said looking over at her partners. “What would you two say to getting together for some ice cream? We can just go through a drive thru, sit in our cars, and talk on the speaker phone.” Richie glanced at Eddie, a wide grin on his face.

“I don’t know,” Eddie said. He thought it was ridiculous that anything that wasn’t a grocery store or pharmacy was open.

“Please, Eds,” Richie said. Eddie nibbled his lip.

“No pressure,” Ben said softly. “But we miss you.”

“What about Stan and Mike?” Eddie asked.

“They’re coming, too,” Bill said.

“Where are you going?” Eddie asked.

“Wherever you want to go,” Ben said. Eddie looked at Richie.

“Please,” Richie whispered. He shoved the phone down so hopefully the others wouldn’t be able to hear what he was about to say next. “If we go, we can do that thing you like.”

“What thing?” Eddie asked.

“Richie, where’d you go?” Bev asked, laughing.

“Hang on,” Richie said, pulling the phone back up. “I’m negotiating.” He shoved the phone back down.

“What thing?” Eddie asked. Richie gave him _a look_.

“You know. _The thing,_ ” Richie said. Eddie cocked his head.

“Do you even like that?” Eddie asked. Richie licked his lips.

“I like it when you do it,” he said honestly. Eddie thought about it for a minute and groaned.

“Oh, alright,” Eddie said. “Let me go take a shower.” He got up and Richie lifted the phone.

“We’ll be ready in about half an hour,” Richie said.

“Yes!” Ben and Bev said as Bill took his phone back.

“What thing?” Bill teased.

“Goodbye, Bill,” Richie said. “See you later.” He hung up and got up. He knew he should shower, but he also knew that Eddie would make him shower as soon as they got home before they did anything else.

Twenty minutes later, Eddie came out of the bathroom in some of Richie’s gym shorts and t-shirt. He went to the closet and grabbed some of Richie’s crocs that he pretended to hate but wore any chance he got.

“You ready?” Eddie asked. Richie got up from the bed, nodding.

“Let me just text Bill,” he said. “Where are we going?”

“Dairy Queen?” Eddie asked.

“Sounds good,” Richie said, his fingers tapping on the screen. When he was done, he shoved his phone in his pocket and took Eddie’s hand. “You want me to drive?” Eddie took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Yeah, sure,” he said. They went to the garage and got in the car. Eddie took another deep breath as he pulled his seatbelt on. They drove to Dairy Queen in silence. There were so few cars on the road, it was weird. Richie could hardly believe it was a Friday night.

“You doing ok?” Richie asked as they pulled into the parking lot. They were the first ones there, so Richie parked and waited.

“I’m… not great,” Eddie said. “I’m- I’m so uncomfortable.” Richie smiled gently and leaned over to kiss him and Eddie pulled away.

“Sorry,” Richie said sitting back up and looking over at his husband.

“No, I’m sorry,” Eddie said. He squeezed Richie’s hand.

“Is there anything I can do?” Richie asked. Eddie shook his head, no. He looked about ready to bolt. “We can go home if you want.” Eddie twisted back to look at Richie. “We can still do the thing.” Eddie shook his head, no.

“It’s ok,” Eddie said. “I want to be here, I really do.”

“Yeah, but you’re so uncomfortable,” Richie said leaning back on his seat and looking over at Eddie as Bill, Ben, and Bev pulled in and parked next to them. They waved happily, but Richie just studied Eddie.

“It’s ok,” Eddie said. “Really.” Richie’s phone began to ring. He hit the answer button on the car stereo.

“Hey, losers, what are you doing over there?” Bev asked. Richie and Eddie managed a weak laugh. Eddie turned and smiled at them. “Stan and Mike will be here soon.” They waited for a few minutes, talking about what shows they’d been watching, and Ben told them about the shed they were building. When Mike and Stan pulled up, Richie cut him off. They added Stan and Mike to the call before they all got in line for ice cream.

Overall, it was a nice break from the house that neither he nor Eddie had left in almost three weeks. Eddie eventually relaxed enough to enjoy seeing his friends. It was weird being stuck in the cars, but it could have been worse. When they were done with their ice cream, they all hesitated for several minutes, dragging the visit out. None of them knew when they would be able to do this again, when they’d get out of the house again. Richie and Eddie were the first to leave. Richie didn’t want to make Eddie have to stay out longer than necessary, and Eddie was getting antsy.

“Well, kids, it’s been fun,” Richie said. “But I have to take Junior here home.” Eddie elbowed his husband as they all laughed.

“It was good seeing all of you,” Eddie said. Everyone agreed.

“Maybe we can do this again?” Stan asked.

“Maybe,” Eddie said looking over at his friend. Stan smiled a little. When they’d all said their goodbyes, Richie pulled out of the parking spot and drove them home. Eddie tapped his fingers nervously on his knee.

“I love you,” Eddie said staring out the window as they pulled up to the driveway.

“I love you, too, Eds,” Richie said as he put the car in park. “Did you have fun?” Eddie managed a small smile.

“Yeah, I did,” he admitted. “It was nice to see everyone.”

“Yeah, it was,” Richie agreed. They got out of the car and stripped, throwing their clothes directly in the washer. They walked up to the bathroom naked and took a quick shower together. When they were done, Richie pulled on some clean underwear, jeans, and dark green zip up hoodie. He looked over at Eddie who was tugging on some dark jeans, his soft white t-shirt sitting on the bed near him.

“Socks or no socks?” Richie asked, heading to the dresser. Eddie looked over at him.

“No socks,” Eddie said. Richie nodded and took a deep breath.

“Where do you want me?” Richie asked as Eddie pulled on his t-shirt.

“On the bed,” Eddie said pointing with his chin. Richie climbed up to the middle of their big king sized bed and laid on his back, hands at his sides. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. One of the things that got Eddie off was Eddie stripping Richie down while keeping all his clothes on. He loved focusing all his attention on Richie. At first it kind of made Richie uncomfortable. Ok, really uncomfortable. It was weird being naked when your partner was fully clothed. But Richie loved the look on Eddie’s face, loved listening to the way it affected him, the way it absolutely _wrecked_ him. Richie didn’t have it in him to deny him this. And honestly, it was kind of hot.

Eddie turned the lights down low, turned on some music, and set his phone down on the bedside table before sitting on the edge of the bed. He put a hand on Richie’s ankle and squeezed.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Eddie asked. Richie looked over at him. He knew a nod wouldn’t be enough, so he cleared his throat.

“Yes,” he whispered. Eddie squeezed again.

“You’re so good to me,” Eddie murmured and Richie closed his eyes. Eddie crawled up next to him, leaning close. Eddie put one hand on Richie’s chest and used the other to prop himself up. Richie could smell the chocolate from his ice cream on his breath. “Richie?” Richie opened his eyes and looked at his husband. He thought Eddie was going to ask him something, but instead he gently kissed Richie’s lips tentatively. Richie reached up and put a hand on Eddie’s elbow, nodding a little. Eddie leaned down and kissed him again, this time deepening the kiss. Richie sighed. It never ceased to amaze Richie just how much he loved just kissing Eddie. He couldn’t believe he’d spent any part of his life _not_ kissing Eddie.

After a few minutes, Eddie pulled back a little and began to kiss Richie’s cheek, his chin, nibbling gently on his jaw, sucking on his neck and ear while he began to unzip Richie’s hoodie. Richie groaned when Eddie scraped his teeth against Richie’s neck. Eddie slid his hand up Richie’s naked chest, and then dragged his fingers down. He broke the kiss and leaned up on his elbow.

“Hoodie off, please,” Eddie said. Richie sat up and tugged the hoodie off. He dropped it off the side of the bed and laid back down. Eddie leaned forward and kissed Richie’s pec. “You are so beautiful,” Eddie murmured and Richie let out a small huff. Eddie said stuff like that all the time, but he couldn’t quite believe him. Richie had seen himself in the mirror. Eddie pulled back. “You are the most beautiful, and sexy, and kind person I’ve ever met.” Richie laughed.

“Kind? Me?” Richie asked, laughing. Eddie kissed his jaw. “Sexy? Who are you looking at?” Eddie ran his fingers through Richie’s chest hair, his nails digging a little. “And beautiful? Maybe you’re the one who needs glasses.” Eddie pulled back.

“Richie,” Eddie said. Richie bit his lip, closing his eyes. He knew he was playing the game wrong. He wasn’t allowed to be self deprecating right now; he was supposed to just accept Eddie’s compliments.

“It’s just hard,” Richie murmured.

“We can stop,” Eddie offered.

“No, no. I want to do this,” Richie said. “I _can_ do this.” Eddie kissed him again.

“I _know_ you can do this,” Eddie whispered. “You’re so good.” Richie smiled and laid back. He took a deep breath and Eddie mouthed at Richie’s neck. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Eds,” Richie said. Eddie kissed him a few more times and then sat up. He crawled in between Richie’s legs, hands on Richie’s thighs.

“I wish you could see you the way I see you,” Eddie said. Richie opened his mouth to say something but closed it. He wanted this to be good for Eddie. “You are so amazing.” Eddie sat there looking at Richie for another long moment before he leaned down, stretching over Richie’s chest so he could kiss him so slowly, so softly. Richie just held Eddie’s arms, letting Eddie set the pace. Eddie eventually slid his hands down between them and he unzipped Richie’s pants. He sat back and began to tug his jeans down. Richie helped him, and laughed a little when Eddie finally got them off and tried to throw them over his shoulder and ended up whacking himself in the face with them.

“Rude, dude, really rude,” Eddie said, smiling. Richie reached down to tug off his shorts, but Eddie grabbed his wrist. “Not yet.” Richie nodded. Eddie let go and Richie put his hands back on the bed. Eddie leaned back over Richie, kissing him again. He peppered kisses down Richie’s chest, and tried to focus on his breathing. He wasn’t used to all the attention. And it seemed that Eddie was doing his very best to kiss literally every part of Richie.

When Eddie got down to Richie’s boxers, Richie thought he would stop, to give his very hard dick some much deserved attention, but Eddie just kept going. He kissed Richie’s inner thighs, stroked his calves. He sat up on his knees and looked down at Richie.

“You are so fucking sexy,” Eddie said. “I love you like this.” Richie didn’t know what to say so he just lay there and smiled up at Eddie. “Come on, up, up,” Eddie said leaning forward to grab Richie’s boxers. He pulled them off and shoved them aside. His hard, leaking dick flopped on his stomach and Richie started to put his legs back down flat on the bed, but Eddie grabbed his knees, stopping him. He stroked Richie’s knees with his thumbs, just looking down at him. Richie tried to not squirm, to not close his eyes. He couldn’t believe the look of awe on Eddie’s face, like he felt like he wasn’t worthy of Richie, and it was so bizzare to Richie, because of course Richie was the fuck up. It was weird to think of himself as someone to be wanted, to be treasured. Eddie stretched back on top of Richie, this time not laying down, just leaning in so he could kiss Richie.

When they broke apart, Richie’s glasses were askew. Eddie looked at him and then snorted with laughter. Richie’s face fell.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said. “I’m sorry, I just can’t get over the fact that you shaved your eyebrows.” Richie giggled.

“Oh,” Richie said. “I guess that’s a valid thing to laugh at.” Eddie kissed where Richie’s eyebrow should have been.

“Eyebrows or no eyebrows, you’re still the sexiest person I’ve ever had the pleasure to fuck,” Eddie said. Richie smiled and cupped Eddie’s face with his hand.

“Such sweet pillow talk, baby,” Richie said. Eddie leaned forward and kissed him again before pushing his way back up again. He sat on his knees and looked down at Richie again as he fixed his glasses.

“Are you ready?” Eddie asked.

“Ready for what?” Richie asked. Eddie smiled and kissed Richie’s knee. He scooted down, planting kiss after kiss on Richie’s thighs. Richie tried to lean up, but Eddie caught his eye and shook his head, no. Richie laid back down and took a deep breath. Eddie licked and nibbled at the inside of Richie’s thigh. All Richie wanted to do was tug Eddie’s head to his cock, but he knew Eddie would get to it.

Eventually.

He sighed again.

“Patience, my love,” Eddie whispered into Richie’s thigh, his breath sending a shiver up Richie’s spine. Richie cleared his throat. He started to say something and then Eddie began to suck on Richie’s balls, and all thought left Richie’s brain. Richie groped at the sheets.

“Please,” Richie whispered. He hadn’t meant to say anything, the word slipped out without his permission. Eddie kissed higher on his upper thigh.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Eddie said. Richie cleared his throat.

“Please,” Richie breathed. “Please, just-” He stopped.

“Please what?” Eddie asked. Richie took a deep breath.

“Please, just- I need you,” Richie managed.

“I’m right here,” Eddie teased. Richie tensed and relaxed.

“I need you to please put your mouth on my cock,” Richie said.

“Like this?” Eddie asked. He put his lips up against the underside of Richie’s cock.

“Eddie.”

“Maybe, like this?” Eddie asked. He licked the very tip of Richie’s cock. Richie whimpered a little. “Oh, you mean like this.” Eddie swallowed Richie down, and Richie practically levitated off the bed, letting out a strange groan. Eddie pushed him back down, his hands on Richie’s sides, Richie’s legs over his shoulders.

“Thank you,” Richie gasped. “Thank you, Eddie.” Eddie hummed around Richie’s dick and Richie groaned. Eddie went to work slowly. Richie clutched tightly to the sheets, not daring to move them. Eddie sucked and slurped until Richie thought he was going to fly apart. He needed more, but he was worried that if he did anything, said anything, Eddie would stop. Eddie’s thumbs stroked Richie’s stomach, and Richie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Eddie pulled off and looked up at Richie.

“How are you doing?” Eddie asked. Richie shook his head and rubbed his face.

“You are evil,” Richie said. His dick was so hard he wanted to cry.

“Am I?” Eddie asked, gently stroking Richie’s dick. Richie grunted in frustration.

“Why do you hate me?” Richie asked.

“Hate you?” Eddie asked.

“I swear to gawd, Eddie, I _will_ get you back for this,” Richie growled. Eddie’s hand stopped.

“So we’re done here?” Eddie asked.

“Jesus, Eddie,” Richie said. He reached down and shoved Eddie’s hand away. He began to stroke himself fast and hard, and Eddie just lay there watching him for a few moments. Eventually, he put a hand on Richie’s wrist. “Eddie,” Richie whined as he stopped. Eddie just pulled Richie’s hand away and then swallowed him down.

This time, Eddie went at it, sucking and bobbing, his tongue curling around Richie’s dick quickly. Richie moaned loudly and incoherently. He’d never actually heard anyone speak in tongues, but he was pretty sure if someone _didn’t_ know he was getting _the best_ blowjob of his life, they would think he was seeing god. Talking to god? Richie shook his head, and returned his attention back to Eddie’s mouth. Eddie was pushing Richie’s hips down so hard, Richie was sure he was going to be bruised. Richie practically howled when he came, and Eddie just swallowed him down.

When Eddie pulled up again, he rested his head on Richie’s thigh, breathing hard. Richie groped for him, stroking his fingers through Eddie’s sweaty hair. Neither of them said for a long time. Richie dozed off and woke up to Eddie wiping him up with a cool cloth.

Richie tried to brush him off, but Eddie just shushed him.

“Go back to sleep,” Eddie whispered. Richie nodded and flopped back. He was about to slip under again when Eddie tugged off his glasses. Richie snorted and Eddie kissed his forehead. “It’s ok, you’re ok.” Richie nodded again and fell back to sleep.

Richie woke up alone. He sat up and looked around the dark room. After pulling on his glasses, he grabbed his phone. It was almost four in the morning. Not bothering to put on clothes, Richie went out into the hall.

“Eds?” Richie called when he saw the bathroom door wide open. He could hear music coming from the kitchen. Clearing his throat, Richie thought about putting on clothes, but decided he was too tired. He went down to the kitchen and found Eddie baking something and folding clothes at the kitchen table. He was still wearing his jeans and t-shirt. Bob lay in his appointed kitty bed on the table, watching Eddie. “Eddie, what are you doing?” Richie asked. Eddie yelled and jumped at the same time. Bob jumped and took off.

“The fuck,” Eddie said. “What are you doing up?”

“Looking for you,” Richie said. Eddie licked his lips.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said eventually as he folded a pair of Richie’s briefs. Richie stood there, unsure of what to say. Eddie’s phone dinged.

“Want some cookies?” Eddie asked dropping some socks onto the table and went to the counter. He grabbed some oven mitts and opened the oven. He pulled out a tray of cookies and set them on the counter before turning off the oven. There were already some cookies cooling on a rack. Richie rubbed his face. He went to the fridge and pulled out the milk as Eddie grabbed some mugs. After Richie poured them some milk, they stood next to each other, leaning on the counter as they ate their cookies. When he was done, Richie leaned his head on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Babe,” Richie whispered.

“Yeah?” Eddie asked as he stared down at his glass of milk.

“What’s going on?” Richie asked. Eddie bit his lip.

“I don’t want to sleep,” Eddie said. Richie stood up and cocked his head.

“What?”

“I don’t want to sleep,” Eddie said.

“Why not?” Richie asked. Eddie finished his milk and put his cup in the sink before going to transfer the cookies from the tray to the rack.

“I’m too anxious,” Eddie said. Richie watched him. “I’m ok during the day, but at night, when it’s time to sleep, I just kind of…” He stopped.

“You kind of what, Eds?” Richie asked. Eddie rubbed his face and stared at the floor.

“I can’t stop thinking about how if I go to sleep, I won’t wake up, that I’m gonna die,” Eddie said, his voice thick.

“Oh, Eds,” Richie whispered. Eddie sniffed and wiped at his cheek.

“It’s stupid, I know,” Eddie said. He grabbed the cookie tray and shoved it in the sink as he turned on the water.

“It’s not stupid,” Richie said.

“It is, Richie, it’s really fucking stupid,” Eddie said leaning across the sink. “I’m not a child any more. What the fuck is wrong with me?” Richie stepped closer and turned off the water.

“You’re a little short and you have a terrible taste in clothes, but other than that, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Richie said. Eddie looked up at him.

“You’re one to talk, asshole,” Eddie said smiling a little.

“Hey, I’m not short. I’m normal sized,” Richie said. Eddie snorted and leaned over so Richie could pull him close. “Seriously, spaghetti, there’s nothing wrong with you. Everyone is so fucking stressed. Everyone’s sleep schedule is totally off.” Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie and sighed.

“I haven’t been like this since I was a kid,” Eddie said. Richie rubbed Eddie’s back.

“I know,” Richie said. He could remember when they were kids and Eddie would try and stay up all night during sleep overs. Richie would stay up with him, talking to him even as the others fell asleep around them. It was amazing that they didn’t get together until they were in their mid-twenties. Eddie sighed. “What can I do?”

“I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do,” Eddie said. He kissed Richie’s shoulder. Richie knew he was right, but he fucking hated it. He hated seeing Eddie like this. Everything was so fucking terrifying, and there was nothing any of them could do about it except stay home.

“Are you ready to go lay down?” Richie asked. Eddie nodded. They turned out the lights and went up the stairs. Richie stretched out on the bed as Eddie tugged out of his clothes. Richie turned on the TV and opened Hulu. He put on a stupid show that Eddie loved as Eddie stretched out next to him, tugging him close. Eddie tucked his head under Richie’s chin and sighed.

“I love you so much,” Eddie said.

“I love you, too,” Richie said. “You’re my favorite.”

“You’re my favorite, too,” Eddie said. Richie stroked Eddie’s back until his breathing changed and he _knew_ Eddie was asleep before letting himself drift off. He knew when they got up, nothing really would be solved, but at least, for the moment, they were ok.


End file.
